Journal of AIDS & Clinical Research

Healthcare Providers' Perspectives on Occupational Exposure to HIV: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

Abstract

Moazzam Ali Zaidi, Robin Griffiths and William Levack

Interviews were conducted with 24 doctors and nurses in United Arab Emirates and New Zealand to better understand factors that might influence behaviour after occupational exposure to HIV (e.g. following needlestick injury). While participants in both countries held similar beliefs regarding their primary health concerns, open reporting of HIV exposure in United Arab Emirates hospitals appeared threatened by sociocultural and political factors (particularly stigma and risk of deportation) compared to in New Zealand hospitals.